As expected, Microsoft is finally revealing all there is about Update 1 for Windows Phone 8.1. Known internally as GDR1 for 'general distribution release,' this update is one of two for the 8.1 operating system in 2014. The news comes out of Beijing, China where Microsoft's Joe Belfiore announced the release during his keynote, in addition to the expansion of Cortana to the UK and China.

Coming next week for Preview for Developers. If Microsoft can keep this pace of updates up, they've got something very good going. A very welcome contrast to the slow and monolithic approach the company took in the first few years of Windows Phone's existence.